The present invention relates to cochlear implant systems, and more particularly to a device that may be used with a cochlear implant system to provide an external indication of the status of the system and to provide limited control of the system.
Remote control devices, including status indicators, for use with cochlear implant systems are known in the art. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,584,869 and 5,824,022, incorporated herein by reference.
Sometimes, the status-indicating function of the external device has a very limited function, e.g., to indicate proper alignment between an external coil and an implanted coil so that maximum power transfer may occur, as taught, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,453.
It is desirable to monitor the operation of a cochlear implant system from outside of the system to determine whether the system is functioning correctly, and to monitor the settings for such parameters as volume, sensitivity, and program selection. Such external monitoring is particularly important in the case of pediatric implantees, and with behind-the-ear (BTE) packaging for the external speech processor, where there is limited space for controls and indicators on the device. In addition, it is also desirable to be able to control the operation of the cochlear implant from a remote device, again due to limited controls and indicators available in a BTE package.